Following my passion and looking for open doors

Right now I am at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary (GGBTS) in San Francisco, CA! I have about an hour before 24 comes on, so I thought I'd give a little update on my trip.

Nathan and I got here yesterday afternoon and spent the day touring the city. A Malaysian friend of mine who graduated from Campbell now lives in San Fran and offered to pick us up from the airport and show us around. It was so great to see her after 3 years and she and her boyfriend were great hosts for us! They took us to the main spots (Golden Gate bridge, Lombard St., Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, etc.) The last time I was in San Francisco, I was 10, so I felt like I was seeing it for the first time.

(Nate, me and Cheryl on the Golden Gate bridge)

I immediately discovered that I love San Francisco. Mainly because it is so cultural and diverse! When you're walking down the street, you see more Asians than Caucasians! I was somewhat surprised by the beauty of this place. It's been rainy, but it's cleared up enough for us to see how pretty it is. The grass is SO green, and there is a great mix of the mountains and the ocean. I couldn't help but smile as we were walking around downtown because I was so excited.

From the beginning of this trip, I feel like God has ordained my steps and put the right people in my path. On the flight to SFO, I was sitting next to a sweet older woman. I noticed that she was reading a book in Korean, so I immediately began talking to her. She asked what school I was going to visit and I said, "Have you ever heard of Golden Gate seminary?" She kind of chuckled and said, "I graduated from there!" GGBTS is a relatively small school, so I found it pretty neat that of the hundreds of people on the airplane, I would be sitting next to someone who went there! She was so sweet and gave me her contact information and answered a lot of questions I had about the school.

Nate and I spent the whole day today on campus and oh my goodness...I am in love with it! It is located on a hill and the view of the ocean and the city is breathtaking. The whole campus seems to have a common passion for missions, which really excites me. The students and faculty are all super friendly and helpful and I've felt very welcomed here.

It seems like as I travel more, the world seems to get smaller and smaller. The guy who gave us the campus tour is from Hawaii and I found out that he used to be the dorm manager of the dorm that I'm going to be living in next year at the University of Hawaii! Then the admissions counselor told me that she had the exact internship in Hawaii that I am going to have next year. I was able to ask her lots of questions and it was so cool to make that connection with her. And then as I was talking to another girl who works in admissions, I found out that she worked M-Fuge in Nashville, which is where I'll be working this summer. Crazy! I never thought I'd have so many connections with people on the opposite side of the continent! I felt almost like God was using those people to confirm my being here.

I don't know if I will end up going to school here, but I'm definitely interested and will need to pray about it. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated as well!

When we were on our tour this morning, we passed the president of the school, Dr. Iorg, in the hallway and he stopped and talked to us for a while. He was very down to earth and I was really impressed by him. He told us straight up that if you're not passionate about intercultural studies and missions, then Golden Gate can be a very uncomfortable and intimidating place. BUT, if you are interested in those things, then Golden Gate is perfect.

He said something that I think will stick with me for a while. He said a lot of young people come to him and share how concerned they are about figuring out God's will for their lives. His answer to them is always, "Follow your passion, and look for open doors."

Follow your passion, and look for open doors. That was such an encouragement to me. I don't need to have my entire life planned out. If I follow the passions God has placed within me, He will lead me in the right direction.

So I'm not too troubled about deciding which seminary to go to, because I believe God will show me when the time is right. I am so glad I was able to make this trip and it'll be interesting to see where I will end up in a few years :)

Well, Jack Bauer is about to save America again, and you're probably getting tired of reading my ramblings, so I'll sign off now.

Follow your passion and look for open doors!
Meredith